Dr. F. DeKarlos Blackmon

Dr. F(redron) DeKarlos Blackmon has served as Secretariat Director of Life, Charity and Justice since 2015. He came to the position after not only having served in parochial and education ministry in the Diocese of Birmingham, but also having served as the 16th Supreme Knight, chief executive officer and chairman of the Board of the Knights of Peter Claver and president of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights.  

He serves as the director of Social Concerns, diocesan director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and liasion to the Austin Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. In addition to his diocesan responsibilities, he serves on many boards. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for Cultural Diversity for African American Affairs. Over the years, he has been actively involved in pastoral ministry, outreach, developing youth, and promoting civic improvement. DeKarlos holds paramount the responsibility to bring faith into the public square — standing arduously for the hard right as opposed to the easy wrong. DeKarlos presents workshops on catechesis, liturgy, pastoral ministry, Catholic education and leadership throughout the country. He has taught in the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans.